92 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Feb, 
tual absence of all other means, these publications, al¬ 
most alone, have rendered good service in making known 
discoveries in the science, and spreading knowledge of 
improvements in the art of agriculture.” 
“ Notes on American Agriculture.”-”— The Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist for January last, has an editorial 
article entitled, “ Review of Professor Johnston’s 
Notes on American Agriculture.” The article reviewed 
was published in the Scottish Quarterly Journal of 
Agriculture for July 1850—(not “ September” as stated 
in the Agriculturist.) ¥e noticed the same article and 
gave some extracts from it in the Cultivator for October 
last. By what, propriety these “ notes” are attributed 
to Prof. Johnston, we do not understand. Their pub¬ 
lication was commenced in the Q. Journal for March 
1850, and continued through the numbers for July and 
October. They had the signature “ B.” We know of 
no reason for supposing them to have been written by 
Prof. Johnston, but on the contrary, are satisfied that 
he is not their author. In the first place the “notes” 
bear eviednce of having been taken as early as 1848, a 
year before Prof. J. was in America. The writer speaks 
of having visited the New York markets, “ frequently” 
during the season when peaches were for sale; but Prof. 
J. was not in the city of New York till January 1850, 
and he left the country in March following. Again, 
the writer of the “ notes” speaks of having “ toiled 
through” portions of the “far-famed Genesee country 
in mid-summer.” Prof. J. only passed through that 
county once, on the rail-road, and that was in the month 
of September. There is much other evidence of the 
same kind, but this is sufficient for the present. 
CCr" The series of articles entitled Village Lectures , 
published as original in the Agriculturist , first appeared 
in the English Agricultural Gazette. 
Fruit-raising in New Jersey. —Mr. George W. 
Obert, of Pennington, Mercer county, N. J., writes us 
that he has a peach orchard of 3,300 trees, nine years 
old, which has borne six full crops in succession. It oc¬ 
cupies twenty acres of ground. He states that in 1849, 
his crop cleared $6,000. The peach crop in general, was 
that year destroyed by frost. The orchard is on a high 
northern exposure, which keeps the trees from blossom¬ 
ing till the spring is well advanced. Mr. O. states that 
he put out 500 apple trees last spring, of the choicest 
kinds, and that he did not lose one of the trees. Several 
of them produced apples the same season. 
Potato Disease. —Our attention has been called to an 
article on this subject published in the Christian Regis¬ 
ter. The writer thinks “ the potato rot is not an epi¬ 
demic growing out of atmospheric influence, but the de¬ 
cline, the running out of the vegetable, in consequence 
of the mode in which it has been propagated.” He be¬ 
lieves there is a “general law” that “vegetable repro¬ 
duction without deterioration can take place only from the 
seed.” He observes that if the potato be an exception 
to this law, it is the only one with which he is acquainted; 
and adds, “ It is believed that no variety of grafted fruit 
out-lives in full, vigor and excellence the possible life¬ 
time of its parent tree.” The remedy he suggests for 
the malady, is to “ procure seed from the native potato 
of South America, and to propagate anew race from the 
savage stock.” Neither this hypothesis as to the cause 
of the potato disease, nor the suggestion as to its remedy 
are new ; the former has been discussed at great length 
in most of the European and American agricultural 
journals, and shown to be without foundation, and the 
latter has been extensively tried and “ found wanting.” 
We would refer the writer alluded to, to our volume for 
1848, pp. 140, 192. - 
Mott’s Agricultural Furnace. —A subscriber in 
Georgia wishes to know whether this article will answer 
for boiling sugar from the sugar-cane. Will some of our 
correspondents answer the inquiry? 
Cultivation of the Chestnut. —A correspondent in 
Otsego county, wishes information in regard to the best 
mode of cultivating the chestnut. He has planted the 
seeds several times and cannot make them grow. We 
shall feel obliged if some one who is acquainted with the 
cultivation of this tree, will give us a communication on 
the subject. - 
Barley Trade of Albany. —This city is the princi¬ 
pal point of trade in barley for the Northern and East¬ 
ern States, and frequent purchases are made here for 
the cities along the coast, as far south as Charleston. 
The Argus gives from official documents the receipts of 
barley at tide-water for a period of nine years: 
1S38. 
. 677,338 
bush. 
1847. 
.1,523.023 
bush 
1841. 
. 121,010 
U 
1848. 
.1,548,197 
U 
1S44. 
. 818,472 
u 
1849. 
.1,400.194 
tc 
1845. 
.1,137,917 
u 
1850. 
.1,720'C00 
<c 
1846. 
.1,427,953 
1C 
These receipts are stated to be almost entirely sold at 
Albany. According to the statement here referred to, 
the actual transactions here, in the crop of 1850, reached 
1,330,000 bushels, the aggregate amount paid for which 
was $1,008,574, an average of 76 cents on the bushel. 
The lowest figure paid was 65 cents, the highest 101 
Kinderhook Wool Depot. —We have watched with 
much interest the operations of this establishment, which 
has now been in existence for six years. Many promi¬ 
nent and enterprising wool-growers in this State, were 
desirous that the experiment should be made, of a pro¬ 
per and judicious classification of fleeces, preparatory to 
making sales, with the hope that greater inducements 
would thereby be offered for improvements in breeding 
sheep, by obtaining remunerating prices for wool; also, 
that by a just discrimination between wool in good and 
in bad condition, motives would be presented to all wool- 
growers to put their fleeces in proper order for market, 
by thoroughly cleansing them before shearing. The 
success which has attended the efforts of its proprietors, 
we are pleased to learn has met the expectations of its 
friends. We learn that about the 1st of December 
last, one sale v*as made at this depot to an eastern 
manufacturer, amounting to over $100,000. Included 
in this sale, were some of the finest and best conditioned 
clips in the United States; and that they were justly ap¬ 
preciated by the manufacturer, is evidenced by the 
prices obtained, which were for the finest grade 65 cts. 
per pound; for the next 55 to 57 cts.; for the next 48 to 
50 cts.; for the next 45 to 46 cts. Other sales were 
made of the medium and low grades at from 34 to 45 cts., 
which nearly exhausted their entire stock received the 
